Thomas: Welsh can pull it out of bag
If Wales wreck Irish Triple Crown ambitions at Croke Park, they will have a fighting chance of finishing second in this season’s tournament. Lose to the reigning Six Nations champions though, and Wales will find themselves in the wooden spoon mix next weekend when annual strugglers Italy visit Cardiff.
“International rugby is about winning,” said Ospreys flanker Thomas, who wins his 54th cap in a Wales back-row shorn of injured skipper Ryan Jones. “We know we are under-achieving. We are better than the table shows, and we should have beaten France and England. It is up to us to sort it out. It is easier to take when you lose to a side that is better than you.
“It has been incredibly frustrating because we could have won the first three games.
“We know we can turn it on and play good rugby against any side in the world. If we play a bit smarter, we will be in charge of our own destiny. We are not far away from being a top team.
“France had a great defensive record and they are an incredibly physical side who smashed Ireland at home, but we ran them ragged in the second-half and they were physically gone. To do that to a side of their renown says something. We need to concentrate more at the start and not give ourselves such a mountain to climb.”
Unless Wales repeat their 2008 success though, coach Warren Gatland can expect a lengthy and detailed interrogation by Welsh pundits and supporters rightly unhappy with only a 50% success-rate from the last 10 Test matches.
The five wins came against Canada, USA, Samoa, Argentina and Scotland – three of them at home – while Wales lost to Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, England and France.
However much Gatland and his players talk a good game, the reality is they are not delivering victories on a consistent basis.
But Thomas insisted: “We have a never-say-die attitude and always believe we are going to win.
“Our rugby sessions are brutal every single week – we don’t pick and choose when we train hard. Warren wants to take us to a level in training that matches or surpasses the intensity of a game.
“It worked in 2008, but it has not quite done so this time. We are not in a bad place though, looking ahead to the (2011) World Cup. Ireland, in the last 10 years, have been a very consistent side. They are strong up-front and have world-class backs like (Brian) O’Driscoll, (Gordon) D’Arcy and (Tommy) Bowe.
“They had a kick up the backside against France (Ireland lost 33-10) after winning the Grand Slam last year, and they responded in style by beating England.”
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